Where Michigan football’s returning production stacks up with rest of the country for 2025 season

It’s no secret Michigan football lost some valuable pieces from the 2024 season. Despite an 8-5 campaign, the Wolverines are projected to have four first-round draft picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Colston Loveland, and Will Johnson are all slotted to get drafted in the first round. Besides those four, Michigan lost guys like Kalel Mullings, Donovan Edwards, Myles Hinton, Josaiah Stewart, Makari Paige, and Aamir Hall, among others.

But not all is lost. Michigan signed the sixth-overall class in the 2025 recruiting cycle, plus Michigan returns some contributors who helped last season. As he always does, ESPN’s Bill Connelly released the returning production for all 136 FBS teams ahead of the 2025 season.

Connelly keeps in mind who each team brought in via the transfer portal and the experience they provide to the team. Connelly says Michigan has the 29th-ranked returning production in the country with 64% of the team returning.

To dive a little deeper, the Michigan offense returns 63% of its production which is ranked 47th in the country. The Wolverines signed former Fresno State QB Mikey Keene and Alabama RB Justice Haynes who both likely helped out here. Michigan returns some production on the offensive line like Even Link, Andrew Sprague, Greg Crippen, and Gio El-Hadi. On top of those guys, Semaj Morgan, Fred Moore, Peyton O’Leary, Marlin Klein, and Hogan Hansen are all back.

When it comes to the Wolverines’ defense, Michigan returns 64% of its production which is 28th in the country. Guys like Rayshaun Benny, TJ Guy, Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham, Ernest Hausmann, Zeke Berry, Jyaire Hill, Mason Curtis, and Brandyn Hillman all return. The Wolverines also signed Damon Payne Jr., Tre Williams, and TJ Metcalf who all help bring experience. Plus, Michigan got a significant returner when Rod Moore said he was coming back.

There were two Big Ten teams among the top-10 in returning production ahead of the season. Illinois (No. 3) returns 76% of its production and Rutgers (No. 7) returns 71% of its production.